Franklin’s flourishes to the Arizona cannabis market, bringing top-ranked blunts to the barrens

The Franklin’s Team. // Photo Courtesy of Michael Wilson

Local entrepreneur Michael Wilson is no stranger to failure. When he went out on his first venture at 16, he was introduced to the feelings that owning an unsuccessful business brings. The same can be said for his 10 businesses that followed.

It was time for a change. In 2012, he launched his company, Niall, a luxury watch brand. At the time, he thought that maybe, after a dozen tries, he had finally landed on a path that would lead him to success. Then he failed again.

During the downfall of his wrist accessory business, Wilson found out what it means to be “broke, broke,” as he likes to call it.

“I got that education for about four or five years of what it was just like to struggle and not have money,” he says.

After the decline of Niall, he got a gig at Greenlight Dispensary in the newly established Missouri medical cannabis industry. Having known the Mueller family—brothers John and Jim, the owners of the cannabis business—for some time, it was easy for him to get a job working for the siblings.

As legal recreational cannabis grew closer, his entrepreneurial gears began to turn. Aware that St. Louis native Garrett Lott had possession of three cannabis licenses that he was going to “let go to the wind,”  Wilson created the bones of a cannabis brand, pitched the idea to investors, raised $300,000, booked it to St. Louis, and paid $350,000 for a piece of paper.

“I said, ‘I’m coming to St. Louis tomorrow and I’m begging you to sell me this piece of paper,’” he says.

Once he had the certification, he raised an additional $1.7 million to get the business up and running. Between January and June 2022, he had built everything from the ground up and had operations underway within six months. That October, Wilson’s product was introduced to the Missouri medical cannabis market, under the brand, Franklin’s Stash House, which would later transition to simply Franklin’s.

Photo Courtesy of Michael Wilson

Instead of shying away from the entrepreneurial lifestyle after his handful of shortcomings, he converted his failures into a carton of eggs-worth of lessons learned, as the introduction of Franklin’s serves as a product of wisdom gained through past experiences.

“I could have absolutely chosen the other path of just going and getting a regular job and forgetting about entrepreneurial dreams whatsoever, but it’s so deeply inside me that I’d rather be broke chasing a dream than to be stuck in a job and role where I would never have any financial freedom at all,” Wilson says.

Quickly, Wilson realized that his decision to continue chasing the American dream was the right call, as Franklin’s had generated four times the revenue within the first year of operating than Niall had in its entire existence.

“It was shocking how quick it took off,” Wilson says. “But it was a mix of timing. We were one month before the recreational vote, so we were in a medical market, and people knew us before that rec market came over.”

Yes, timing did seem to work well in the business’ favor, but there is an underlying motif that Wilson has carried his entire life that led to the company’s early triumph: drive and commitment. And while it is easy to say that an individual has these traits, proving it is a completely different story. Through his many trials and tribulations, he has absolutely provided evidence for why someone may attribute these characteristics to the man.

“There were a lot of struggles figuring all this stuff out in real time,” Wilson says. “But there was an absolute, persistent resilience. I have a dream of where we’re going, so any of the road bumps in the middle are just little obstacles to overcome.”

When speaking with Wilson, it is easy to understand that his push for excellence is no joke, stating that his involvement in making the company prosperous comes from a fear of survival.

“There’s a sense of survival in me that I’ll never, ever go back to being broke, not knowing where you’re gonna get your food for your meals from,” Wilson says.

Photo Courtesy of Michael Wilson

Michael’s wife, Lilly, says that company’s growth comes at no surprise, taking into account his nature toward business. Having been married for seven years, she has seen the ups and downs, yet, similar to her partner, never wavered.

“It’s not abnormal to see, because I know that, if my husband tells me that he’s going to get something done or he’s going to do something, I just believe him because I’ve seen it,” Lilly says.

Prior to joining Michael in the cannabis game, Lilly had prior experience working in pharmaceuticals, another compliance-heavy field where the primary focus is on providing care for individuals.

“There are a lot of gray areas in the pharmacy world where you do have to take all of your knowledge base and then critically apply it to a patient that might not fit into your black and white guidelines,” she says. “And that really transitioned well into the cannabis industry, where we are very highly regulated.”

When it comes to cannabis competition, Wilson is cutthroat, knowing that there is always a bigger fish to fry.

“I’ll invent my own competition,” Wilson says. “If I’m out here and it’s stale, I’m reading data to see who’s top dog, I want to see who’s got something I can go take, compete. That’s entrepreneurship.”

This relentless pursuit to be the best performing cannabis brand in the state has led to Franklin’s earning the title of ‘#1 Blunt Brand in the U.S.’, according to Headset—an organization leading the way as the central platform for cannabis business data.

Photo Courtesy of Michael Wilson

The Homegrown Hustle

When the Franklin’s brand was established, it had been specifically targeted to a small corner of the market: blunt smokers. Although it may not be the most desired form of consumption, Wilson understood that there was free range for him to enter the market as one of the only companies focused predominantly on this method of cannabis usage.

“Even though it’s a small niche, maybe a few million bucks a year, it’s still something that the consumer wants,” he says.

Since the inception of the brand, Franklin’s has begun producing distillate vape cartridges and infused beverages, with Wilson hinting that gummy edibles are on the way. One reason for the brand’s success, he says, has been built on meaningful connections with the faces of the industry: the budtenders.

Photo Courtesy of Michael Wilson

“Those people are God sent,” Wilson says. “They’re literally saying good things about our product. We should be kissing their asses.”

Wilson mentions that he often finds himself sitting on products for months before releasing them, allowing different members in the industry to try them beforehand to ensure that it is well-received rather than placing them in dispensaries to hope for the best.

“I want everyone to know I got a quality product,” Wilson says. “I want them to have tasted it. I don’t want to rush it.”

He also knew that an emphasis on rooting the business within Kansas City, where it calls home, was essential to building community around the product. That is why he opted to partner with local favorite James’ Lemonade for an infused version of the product. But that partnership came to an end a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, due to changes in Missouri’s cannabis legal framework, products that already exist as non-cannabis commodities cannot be infused with the plant and sold in dispensaries.

Pivoting slightly, Franklin’s now has a partnership with Guy’s Deli for a line of THC-infused sodas, offering grape, orange, and root beer flavors, which is totally acceptable in the eyes of the state since there are no existing Guy’s Deli sodas

Guy’s Deli CEO Andy Miller is an investor in Franklin’s, which inclined him to make the deal on the collaboration. But it was Wilson’s business-centered mentality and immense knowledge of the market that gave Miller confidence in the plan.

“It didn’t take long talking to him to realize he was one of the smartest, if not the smartest guy in cannabis, at least in the state of Missouri, in my opinion,” Miller says, looking back on when the two awaited the Missouri recreational cannabis vote in November 2022, saying Wilson had predicted the vote down to a tenth of the percent.

“As it was clicking, I looked at him,” Miller says. “I’m like, ‘Dude, this is stupid scary.’ And he just smiled.”

Partnering with the local deli obviously opens the door to a whole new demographic of customers that may have not been familiar with either before the two teamed up. To that point, ensuring that the infused Guy’s products are top-notch is a priority when it may be the introduction for a consumer.

“We still want a quality product going out, because, if it’s being introduced to a new market and it’s not good, I don’t want them not to buy our chips,” Miller says.

And, as the curator of the brand’s entire image, Wilson knows that collaborating with well-distinguished businesses in the area can be refreshing for a consumer who is used to the namesakes that make up the field.

“It’s smart to have that freshness in the market—new, cool, exciting things that don’t always say ‘Franklin’s, Franklin’s, Franklin’s,’” Wilson says.

Banding together with homegrown brands in this aspect is nothing new to the cannabis industry. But Franklin’s goes a step further in their local endeavors through an unconventional marketing route: tapping into the KC music scene.

Michael Wilson, DJ Rocky Montana, and DJ Rice. // Photo Courtesy of Michael Wilson

Wilson says that he has been involved in the city’s musical culture since he was 21, having worked with highly-acclaimed mixer, DJ Rice, also known as Ronald Rice, who is a co-founder of Franklin’s. When he was considering how he could market Franklin’s to customers who may not be familiar with the brand, he figured that having a DJ rep his brand as they constantly rotate tracks throughout town would be an easy way to spread the word. That is when they landed on DJ Rocky Montana to be a brand ambassador.

“It just made sense that when we, as Franklin’s, wanted to express—let’s have a good time in our community, we need somebody who’s always out there at the parties. What’s the nightlife? And Rocky Montana, for a big segment of this city, is the nightlife,” Wilson says.

Shortly after Montana and Wilson finalized the ambassador deal, the team at Franklin’s had their own jingle, courtesy of local artist Nave Monjo, one of Montana’s team members who was present in the initial business discussion.

About an hour after leaving the Franklin’s headquarters, Monjo created the tune, the musicians sent it over to Wilson, and another business deal had been struck.

“He just looked at me and said, ‘I’m about to go to the studio, I might mess around and whip up a song. I’m feeling inspired now.’ He whipped up the song in like, I’d say, 30 minutes,” Montana says.

Photo Courtesy of Michael Wilson

Although the marketing tactic may not be the first route that cannabis businesses have headed when configuring growth, Montana says that the two cultures have always intersected, making it another obvious untapped market for Wilson to dive head first into.

“It’s been connecting since, I’m talking the ‘70s, the ‘60s,” Montana says. “You think back in the day, that was hippie culture.”

Part of this focus on locality stems from Wilson’s appreciation for the city. He hopes that, if the team stays committed to their goal of providing quality products, one day, Franklin’s will be a household name within the town.

“I’m always looking for Kansas City’s love,” he says. “I mean, that’s, at the end of the day, what we’re trying to create here.”

And while Franklin’s gets a lift up through the direct streamline of fans of both Montana and Guy’s Deli, Wilson will be the first to tell you that assembling a team of employees who have that same drive and grit that he resembles are what truly make Franklin’s run.

“It’s the hammer concept of like, you have a bunch of nails on a table, and you hammer them all. Do you just quit when you’re done, or do you go find more nails and do some more hammering? We have a bunch of people that just enjoy hammering,” he says.

Badland Blunts

This level of devotion to producing quality cannabis is what has made Franklin’s an early success in the Missouri cannabis market. Now it’s time to expand.

After noticing Franklin’s was gifted the title of ‘#1 Blunt Brand in the U.S.’ by Headset, Gianni Woodfield, director of revenue at Arizona-based cannabis cultivator and manufacturer Consensus Holdings, found Wilson’s Instagram account. Shortly after, he slid in his DMs.

Photo Courtesy of Michael Wilson

Woodfield presented the idea of bringing the brand to the Grand Canyon State, and Wilson was quick to bite, hopping on a plane to Phoenix within the next week. The two, among other professionals, sorted out a plan for the company to bring solely blunt products to the Southwestern market, having launched exclusively within the nine Sol Flower Dispensaries this past week.

“We did some napkin agreements and then took a couple months to get the red lines done, cross the T’s, dot the I’s. As of two months ago, got our first run done and made a sale to Sol Flower,” Woodfield says.

It’s similar to how Wilson entered the field in the Show-Me State: find a concentrated sector of the market and execute. He says that the rest of the products will come with time.

“Here in Missouri, we produce practically everything: beverages, vapes, soon to be gummies,” Wilson says. “But that’s not really how you build a business. In another state, people saw a product line and a niche that they really like, and that’s what draws in the attention and the sales.”

When Consensus is searching for an out-of-state partner to enter the market under their umbrella, they obviously want to establish a relationship with individuals who have the same vision and goals. When Woodfield found Wilson, he says that it was a harmonious match due to the Kansas Citians’ attributes.

“I can tell he’s educated, book smart, but he also has a lot of street sense and knowledge to know his customer base, number one, but number two, he gets it done,” Woodfield says. “He moves fast, but with elegance.”

Entering into uncharted territory is quite the risk. Not only is the brand counting on the dispensaries to push the product out, but it also must rely on its cultivator partners to craft quality products that have rendered the brand image over time. However, Wilson is not worried, stating that he found collaborators who have perspectives that are similar to his Kansas City team, geared to producing high-caliber cannabis.

“I see a lot of Franklin’s ethos—quality, interest, and care in the consumer—absolutely, with Consensus,” Wilson says.

Photo Courtesy of Michael Wilson

Looking into the previously stated facts about how Franklin’s has grown in its home state, a large factor has been distinguished as the importance of being involved locally. Recognizing this, Wilson says that he aims to mirror the Missouri model as he establishes which AZ natives make the most sense for the company.

“If we can do that in Arizona the same way we did in Missouri, then maybe we can do that in New Jersey and New Mexico—some of these other places we’re being pulled into,” Wilson says.

As the blunts begin to burn in Arizona, Wilson will be keeping a steady eye on Franklin’s traction. With an unparalleled vision in terms of predicting the cannabis industry’s next steps, he is hopeful that this expansion will set a precedent for more to come.

The number 13 is widely associated with bad luck. But, for Michael Wilson, 13 serves as a symbol of resiliency, determination, and, above all else, success. It wasn’t luck that brought the KC native’s company to the forefront of blunt sales in the nation; it was a conglomerate of professional and performance-driven components that now has Wilson sparking Franklin’s blunts as he golfs in the Arizona heat with his newly found friends a thousand miles from home.